TV: ‘Game of Thrones’ marches into war armed with darkness, silence

Hunter Ingram More Content Now

Monday

Apr 29, 2019 at 10:26 AMApr 29, 2019 at 10:26 AM

[SPOILER ALERT: This post contains MAJOR spoilers from season eight, episode three of HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” titled “The Long Night.” If you have not seen the epsiode and don’t want to be spoiled, kindly leave at once. You have been warned.]

If you watched Sunday’s episode of “Game of Thrones,” go ahead and have a drink or two. You deserve it.

The most overwhelmingly stressful hour of television, maybe ever, was an enthralling and nerve-frying descent into the uncertain chaos of battle. Along the way, nearly every shot of the 82-minute episode challenged viewers already on the edge of their seat to wade through the fog of war just like everyone on the frontlines of the Battle of Winterfell.

Much of the episode was shrouded in a thick, inescapable darkness, not just in tone but in literal “what the heck is going on? I can’t see a thing!” darkness. The nighttime setting more often than not made it hard to discern who was in the frame at any given moment and who exactly was on the wrong end of the pointy weapons being thrown around.

The interminable darkness was frustrating but ultimately effective in keeping the audience on alert and wary of the stillness in the distance and the unsettling moments of quiet. It required the audience to stay engaged when extended bouts of straight-forward fighting can grow tiresome.

It also made some of the episode’s more striking shots even more visually arresting, including the dragons hovering above the threatening clouds of Winter Storm Death and the sea of Dothraki flaming swords being ominously extinguished one by one.

It cannot be good for the health of millions of people to spend 82 minutes straight with elevated pulses and intermittent breathing - but it’s a small price to pay for good television.

And frankly, there’s probably never been a bigger modern television moment than the final season’s third episode. The confrontation between the living and the Night King’s Army of the Dead has been teased since the opening scene of the first episode when wights attacked members of the Night’s Watch north of the Wall.

In a way, the entire episode felt as though it was the fulfillment of a promise made with fans eight years ago and the acceptance of a destiny for this story itself. The weight of that hung over every second of Sunday’s battle, especially in the opening 10 minutes of almost dialogue-free preparations for the White Walkers’ arrival.

Like darkness, silence, or at least the absence of talking, was deployed to great effect in the episode, which calls back to the tension-building opening of the season six finale “The Winds of Winter,” when Cersei (Lena Headey) enacted her murderous revenge by killing a few thousand people. In my opinion, it’s still the show’s finest achievement of storytelling.

The recurrence of quiet also makes you all the more aware of how heavy you are breathing or, conversely, how much you’ve been holding you breath.

As the collection of characters we’ve come to love or love to hate over the last eight seasons stand together and stare off into the darkness as death incarnate marches toward them, it’s anything but relaxing.

But the episode doesn’t have any interest in sparing the viewer the perils of war, especially with the one-two punch of the final fight - a confident combo of tragic loss and sweet release.

As Theon (Alfie Allen) dutifully guards Bran (Issac Hampstead Wright) during the battle, the Night King, having just raised every dead person on the battlefield for a second charge, arrives to kill the Three-Eyed Raven.

The sigh of defeat that Theon releases when he sees the sea of wights part for the Night King is a heart-wrenching moment, followed in short order by Bran giving Theon the forgiveness he so desperately craved (and earned) knowing their final moments were nigh.

Theon made a rather fruitless charge on the Night King, only to die trying. But truly, it was never going to be Theon who killed the King.

Nope, looking back on it now, that was always a job destined for Ayra Stark (Maise Williams) - and she took her opportunity.

In an episode full of darkness and silence, there was nothing clearer or more worthy of screaming at the top of your lungs than Ayra plunging her knife into the Night King’s chest.

She didn’t need a dragon or a magic spell, nor did she let a castle full of zombies stop her. All she needed was her training and will to fight for her family, her people and her home.

The Stark women have proven to be a force to reckon with this season, and Ayra etched herself at the top of the list of “Game of Thrones” legends on Sunday - not that she wasn’t already in contention for the top spot anyway.

As the Night King crumbled into shaved ice, it was an eternally gratifying moment for the youngest Stark girl who has spent the last eight years taking her life and destiny into her own hands.

Since day one, “Game of Thrones” has been defined by its first tagline - “Winter is coming.” Well, it arrived Sunday and the armies of Winterfell made it out the other side, save for a few key favorites (RIP, fierce queen Lyanna Mormont!).

Now it’s onto the final battle against Cersei and her legions in the much sunnier Kings Landing, and something tells me the time for darkness and silence is over.Hunter Ingram can be reached at Hunter.Ingram@StarNewsOnline.com. Hunter is a member of the Television Critics Association.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.